Method of and system for managing promotions for purchase transactions over a network

ABSTRACT

A system for managing promotions over a network includes a promotion server system having a computer processor and associated datastore, the datastore containing data representative of terms and statistics of one or more item promotions, and a commercial server system including a computer processor, the commercial server system being selectively coupleable to the promotion server system over the network. The promotion server system includes promotion code for transferring, to the commercial server system, the data representative of the terms and statistics of the promotions.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a method of and system for managing promotionsfor purchase transactions over a network and more particularly to amethod and system that enables a manufacturer or retailer to monitor thestatus of and track the redemption of promotions for items offered forsale at online retail outlets.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In order to increase the number of new customers who buy a particularproduct, many retail outlets, and grocery stores in particular, set up adatabase of certain items that it sells and links each of these primaryitems to a secondary item that is different from the item to which it islinked for the purpose of promoting the secondary item. As a customer ischecking out and each item is scanned at the checkout, the items aremonitored and simultaneously compared to the items in the database todetermine whether any of the items are associated with a secondary item.If an item is associated with a secondary item, a coupon for thesecondary item is printed out for the customer to use at a later date.

This system enables the store to provide to a customer, who may notnormally purchase the secondary item, an incentive for purchasing thesecondary item, simply because the customer purchased the particularitem that was linked to the secondary item. The system thus potentiallycreates a new customer for the secondary item.

While this system is in use in the so-called “brick and mortar” outlets,there is no such system that enables an online retail store to providecoupons to customers for items in this manner. Furthermore, in theabove-described system, the promotions are available only within eachstore or store chain where the promotion has been set up. A promotioncannot be set up by a manufacturer or wholesaler for an item at acentral location that is available to a large number of retail outletsfor access to the promotions and for redemption of the coupons. There isalso no means for managing the coupons online and for monitoring thesuccess of the coupons.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a method ofand system for managing promotions for items offered for sale at onlineretail outlets, wherein a manufacturer or retailer has access to itspromotions to authorize the promotions, obtain an accounting for thepromotions and to obtain a report of the success of the promotions.

This invention relates to a method of and system for distributing andredeeming electronic coupons or “tokens” in a computer networkenvironment and more specifically to a method and system fordistributing, in advance of a request for information for which the“token” has relevance which may be redeemed.

With the rapid growth of computer networking and requests forinformation from one computer to the next e.g. the Internet, it hasbecome common practice for a provider of information (a “Server”) toprovide each specific requester of information (a “Client”), with anelectronic “token” (commonly referred to as a “Cookie”) for the purposeof “recognizing” the client and/or providing some pre-determined andpre-programmed level of customization at the discretion of theinformation provider.

Thus, in the prior art, the first time a client makes an electronicrequest for information from the server, the server delivers therequested information and, in addition, an electronic “token” or Cookiethat allows the “server” to recognize the “client” and is able tocustomize the information provided in subsequent requests. The Cookiecan also be used to identify a specific client or set of clients tocontrol access to specific information or entry points of the server'sprivate network.

In ordinary commerce, information providers such as newspapers andmagazines are used to attract or identify specific market segments ofconsumers in order to permit vendors to target consumers in thosespecific market segments with advertising. This frequently includes theuse of coupons which may be redeemed by consumers for discounts onproduct purchases and for other benefits. Typically, the source of thecoupon is either the vendor's own product or publication or that of adistributor or other information provider associated with the vendor.One of the benefits of coupons is that they provide the vendor with somemeasure of the effectiveness of their advertising by using coupons thatare unique to each source of advertising. However, the tracking of papercoupons is a very time consuming and imprecise process.

With the advance of the Internet, consumers can download and print outcoupons from many online sources. Consumers can take these coupons totheir local store to redeem them or return them to their source alongwith a proof of purchase in order to receive a refund by mail. Thesemethods are both inconvenient and time consuming for the consumer.Currently, there is no effective way to distribute and redeem couponsonline.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improvedmethod and system for distributing and redeeming coupons in a networkenvironment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is directed to a method of and system for managingpromotions for items offered for sale at online retail outlets. Themethod and system enable a manufacturer or retailer to access statisticsof its promotions, including the number of promotions issued andredeemed. The method and system also enable the manufacturer or retailerto authorize or decline a promotion that has been created and to obtainaccounting reports that provide information about the dollar value ofthe promotions that have been redeemed.

A system for managing promotions over a network according to oneembodiment of the invention includes a promotion server system having acomputer processor and associated datastore, the datastore containingdata representative of terms and statistics of one or more itempromotions and a commercial server system including a computerprocessor, the commercial server system being selectively coupleable tothe promotion server system over the network. The promotion serversystem includes promotion code for transferring, to the commercialserver system, the data representative of the terms and statistics ofthe promotions. The promotion server system may further includeauthorization code for enabling the commercial server system to acceptor decline one or more of the promotions and/or accounting code forproviding to the commercial server system data representative of one ormore of the number of promotions redeemed and the value of the redeemedpromotions. Certain of the promotion data in the datastore of saidpromotion server system may be associated with a specific commercialserver system and the specific commercial server system can only accessthe certain of the promotion data associated therewith. Theauthorization code may include screen display data having a promotionsearch portion for enabling the commercial server system to search forits promotions based on search terms input to the promotion searchportion by the commercial server system. The promotion code may includescreen display data having a promotion search portion for enabling thecommercial server system to search for its promotions based on searchterms input to the promotion search portion by the commercial serversystem. The accounting code may include screen display data having apromotion search portion for enabling the commercial server system tosearch for its promotions based on search terms input to the promotionsearch portion by the commercial server system. The accounting codescreen display data may include a table having at least one of the totalnumber of promotions redeemed and the total value of the redeemedpromotions. The accounting code screen display data table may include atleast one of the total number of promotions redeemed and the total valueof the redeemed promotions for each of a number of days that thepromotions are active. The promotion data may be transferred to thecommercial server system in the form of screen display data.

According to another embodiment of the invention, a method of managingpromotions over a network includes the steps of establishing aconnection between a commercial server system and a promotion serversystem over the network and the promotion server system transferringpromotion data to the commercial server system over the network, thepromotion data including terms of the promotions and statistics of aperformance of the promotions. The promotion data may be transferred tothe commercial server system in the form of screen display data. Themethod may further include the step of the commercial server systemselecting a promotion management option, wherein the promotion serversystem transfers screen display data to the commercial server systemthat provides the commercial server system with an option to view thestatistics and the step of the commercial server system selecting apromotion management option, wherein the promotion server systemtransfers screen display data to the commercial server system thatprovides the commercial server system with an option of pulling one ormore of the promotions from an active status. The method may furtherinclude the step of the commercial server system selecting a promotionauthorization option, wherein the promotion server system transfersscreen display data to the commercial server system that provides thecommercial server system with an option of accepting a promotion and thestep of the commercial server system selecting a promotion authorizationoption, wherein the promotion server system transfers screen displaydata to the commercial server system that provides the commercial serversystem with an option of declining a promotion. The method may furtherinclude the step of the commercial server system selecting a promotionaccounting report option, wherein the promotion server system transfersscreen display data to the commercial server system that provides thecommercial server system with statistics that include the dollar valueof the promotions redeemed by a client system through the commercialserver system and the step of the commercial server system selecting apromotion success report option, wherein the promotion server systemtransfers screen display data to the commercial server system thatprovides the commercial server system with statistics that include aredemption rate of the promotions redeemed by a client system throughthe commercial server system.

According to another embodiment of the invention, a system for managingpromotions over a network includes a promotion server system andassociated data store containing data representative of one or more itempromotions, a commercial server system selectively coupleable to thepromotion server system over the network and at least one client systemselectively coupleable to the commercial server system over the network.The promotion server system includes available promotion code forproviding, to the commercial server system, data representative of theidentity and terms of one or more of the item promotions and promotiondistribution code, responsive to requests from the commercial serversystem for specific ones of the item promotions, for transmitting thepromotion data for the specific item promotions to the commercial serversystem. The commercial server system is responsive to access thereto byone of the client systems, and includes pointer code that points theclient system to the promotion data representative of terms of thepromotions in the datastore, to transfer the promotion term data to theclient system. The item promotion data in the data store may beassociated with a specific commercial server system and the availablepromotion code may transmit to the specific commercial server systemonly item promotion data associated with the specific commercial serversystem. The promotion server system may maintain data representative ofthe identity of the commercial server system and the identity of itempromotion data requested by the commercial server system. The commercialserver system and the client systems may include code which enablestransactions over the network and the commercial server system mayinclude code for transmitting, to the promotion server system,transaction data representative of transactions between the commercialserver system and the client systems which involve the item promotions.The promotion server system may maintain data representative of thetransaction data. The promotion server system and the commercial serversystem may include code enabling the commercial server system to requestinformation relating to the transaction data and, in response thereto,to adjust the terms of the promotions.

The invention is directed to a method of and system for distributing andredeeming electronic coupons in a networked environment where the sourceof the coupons, the consumer and vendor are all connected to a commoncommunications channel. The consumer, via a client system, can connectto a source of the coupons, typically a server, which will transfer anelectronic coupon or a “book” of electronic coupons to the client. Thesecoupons are transferred in advance of the client establishing aconnection with the vendor's server in order to request information orobtain discounts on purchases of the vendors products or services. Whenthe client does establish a connection with a vendor's server andinitiates a transaction for information, goods or services, the vendor'sserver can recognize that the client bears a coupon which can modify thetransaction and permit the client to redeem the coupon. The coupon caninclude an encrypted or encoded portion which would permit the server tocommunicate with another server such as an authentication server toauthenticate and/or validate the coupon.

The system according to the invention includes a first server system,including a computer processor and associated memory and a clientsystem, including a computer processor and associated memory, coupled toa communications channel. The client system is adapted to requestinformation from the first server system and the first server system isadapted for transferring information over the communications channel.The first server system is also adapted for transferring an electroniccoupon to client system and the client system is adapted for storing theelectronic coupon in the associated memory. The system can furtherinclude a second server system, including a computer processor andassociated memory, coupled to the communications channel. The client canbe adapted to initiate a transaction with the second server system. Thesecond server system can be adapted to detect the electronic coupon inorder to enable or modify the nature or value of the transaction. Thesystem can further include a third server system, including a computerprocessor and associated memory, which can be coupled to thecommunications channel. The second server system can establish aconnection with the third server system in order to enable the thirdserver system to authenticate the electronic coupon and authorize thecompletion of the transaction contemplated.

In another embodiment, the first server system may be adapted fortransferring an electronic token to the client system and the clientsystem may be adapted for storing the electronic token in the associatedmemory. In this embodiment, all of the data relating to the couponresides on a separate server system, and the electronic token includespointer information pointing to the coupon data on the separate serversystem.

In another embodiment, the first server system may include scriptnecessary to form a first website frame having a predeterminedsignature. The first server system provides an electronic token to theclient system such that the electronic token uniquely corresponds to thepredetermined signature. In this embodiment, the second server systemalso includes script necessary to form a second website frame having thesame predetermined signature as the first website frame, such that thesecond server system may retrieve the electronic token deposited by thewebsite frame. The electronic token may include the complete body ofcoupon information, or the electronic token may only include dataidentifying the client and pointing to coupon information associatedwith the client and residing on a separate server system.

The method according to the invention includes the steps of a clientsystem requesting information from a first server system. The firstserver system transfers the requested information and includes anelectronic coupon along with the information transferred. The clientsystem stores the electronic coupon in memory. The client systemsubsequently requests information from a subsequent server system. Thesubsequent server system can detect that the client system holds theelectronic coupon and upon initiation of a transaction with thesubsequent server system, the subsequent server system can enable ormodify the transaction, such as by providing a discount in the purchaseprice of goods or services or provide access or a modified level ofaccess to the information requested as a function of the electroniccoupon.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other objects of this invention, the various featuresthereof, as well as the invention itself may be more fully understoodfrom the following description when read together with the accompanyingdrawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view of a system for defining promotions inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of a method of defining promotions inaccordance with the present invention; and

FIGS. 3-11 are diagrams of the screen displays for each of the stepsinvolved in the method in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 101 is a diagrammatic view of a system for distributing andredeeming electronic coupons in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 102 is a flow diagram of a method of distributing and redeemingelectronic coupons in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 103 is a diagrammatic view of another embodiment of the system ofFIG. 101;

FIG. 104 is a diagrammatic view of the reimbursement procedure of oneembodiment of the system of FIG. 103; and,

FIG. 105 is a diagrammatic view of the reimbursement procedure ofanother embodiment of the system of FIG. 103.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is directed to a method of and system for managingpromotions for items offered for sale on a communication network such asthe internet. A promotion server system includes screen display codethat enables a commercial server system to select from a number ofoptions for reviewing the performance of the promotions set up on thepromotion server system by the manufacturer or retailer. One of theoptions includes a screen display that enables the commercial serversystem to review a listing of all of its promotions and the status ofeach promotion. Another option includes a screen display that enablesthe commercial server system to review a listing of its promotions andto accept or authorize each promotion or to decline or cancel eachpromotion. Another option includes a screen display that providesreports about each promotion, including an accounting report and asuccess report. An overview option includes a programmable screendisplay that provides a ranking of the performance of each of amanufacturer's or retailer's promotions relative to each other. In orderfor the promotion server system to obtain the information necessary tocompile the accounting and success reports, as well as the overviewpage, the commercial server system reports this information to thepromotion server system. The commercial server system can either reportthis information to the promotion server system, or the commercialserver system can use the promotion server system to process theredemption of the promotions, as described in commonly assigned U.S.Pat. No. 6,041,309, entitled METHOD OF AND SYSTEM FOR DISTRIBUTING ANDREDEEMING ELECTRONIC COUPONS and commonly assigned copending patentapplication Ser. No. 09/573,706, now abandoned, entitled METHOD OF ANDSYSTEM FOR DISTRIBUTING AND REDEEMING ELECTRONIC COUPONS, bothincorporated herein by reference. By using the promotion server systemfor processing the redemption of the promotions, the promotion serversystem has the information necessary for compiling the reports.

FIG. 1 shows a diagram of a system 100 for managing promotions inaccordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Thesystem 100 includes commercial server system 120 and promotion serversystem 130 connected to a common communications network 160. A clientsystem 150 may also be connected to the communications network 160.Preferably, the commercial server system 120, promotion server system130 and client system 150 can each be a personal computer such as an IBMPC or IBM PC compatible system or an APPLE? MacINTOSH? system or a moreadvanced computer system such as an Alpha-based computer systemavailable from Compaq Computer Corporation or a SPARC? Station computersystem available from SUN Microsystems Corporation, although a mainframe computer system can also be used. Preferably, the communicationsnetwork 160 is a TCP/IP-based network such as the Internet or anintranet, although almost any well known LAN, WAN or VPN technology canbe used.

In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the client system 150 isan IBM PC compatible system operating an operating system such as theMicrosoft Windows? operating system, and commercial server system 120and promotional server system 130 are configured as web serversproviding access to information such as web pages in HTML format via aprotocol such as the HyperText Transport Protocol (http). The clientsystem 150 includes software to allow viewing of web pages, commonlyreferred to as a web browser, thus being capable of accessing web pageslocated on commercial server system 120 and promotional server system130. Alternatively, client system 150 can be any wired or wirelessdevice that can be connected to a communications network, such as aninteractive television system, such as WEBTV, a personal digitalassistant (PDA) or a cellular telephone. In this preferred embodiment,commercial server system 120 can be either an e-tail server offering aplurality of items for sale over the Internet, a distributor or amanufacturer or items and promotion server system 130 includes adatabase for storing the promotions that define electronic coupons andpromotional linking code for linking items in the inventory topromotional terms that define the electronic coupons. Promotional serversystem 130 also includes the software necessary to authenticateelectronic coupons prior to their redemption. The commercial serversystem 120 is responsive to access thereto by the client system 150, andincludes pointer code that points the client system to promotion datarepresentative of terms of the promotions in the database of thepromotion server system 130, to transfer promotion term data to theclient system. The items offered for sale by the e-tail server 120 canbe products and/or services.

In one preferred embodiment, promotion server system 130 includes webserver software that is adapted to produce an electronic coupon or abook of electronic coupons that is transferred to the client system 150in the form of an electronic token, such as a cookie, that is stored inmemory at the client system. Preferably, the electronic coupon is a datastructure which can include any or all of the following informationelements: data representative of an electronic coupon serial number oridentification number; data representative of a unique key that can beused to validate or authenticate the coupon; data representative of thevendor that authorized the coupon and will redeem the coupon; and datarepresentative of the nature of the discount or access provided by thecoupon data representative of the server or entity that issued thecoupon. In one preferred embodiment, the electronic coupon can be issuedas part of an electronic coupon book. The coupon book can include datarepresentative of a version number for the electronic coupon book anddata representative of a serial number or identification number for theelectronic coupon book.

In one preferred embodiment, the electronic coupon contains all theinformation necessary to redeem the coupon. Specifically, the electroniccoupon identifies the grantor (i.e., the party or vendor that willredeem the electronic coupon), the nature of the discount or benefitprovided and a unique serial number or other data structure that permitsthe electronic coupon to be authenticated or validated. Thus, a serverredeeming this type of electronic coupon can obtain all the informationnecessary to redeem from the electronic coupon. The server can eveninclude the software necessary to authenticate or validate theelectronic coupon.

In an alternative embodiment, an electronic coupon book includes aunique serial number or identification number and data structure usefulfor authenticating or validating the electronic coupon book. The actualcontent of the electronic coupon book can be determined for example, byvisiting a website which reads the coupon book serial number andprovides the user with listings of the coupons available. A benefit tothis configuration is the organization that issues the electronic couponbook can add vendors even after the electronic coupon book has beenissued. Thus, if a vendor signs up with the organization that issueselectronic coupon books after a particular coupon book has been issuedto a client, the vendor can be added to the electronic coupon book at alater date. In order to redeem this type of electronic coupon, theserver that intends to redeem the electronic coupon must connect to anauthentication server which will authenticate or validate the couponbook and indicate the nature of the benefit of the electronic coupon tothe server requesting authentication/validation. Another benefit of thisconfiguration is that the coupons are relatively tamper-proof due to theauthentication and validation facilities. In many prior art systems,coupons could be copied and/or altered by the user with relative ease;in the absence of validation/authentication schemes, few reliablemethods for detection of such counterfeits exist.

FIG. 2 shows a flow diagram 200 of a method of managing promotions inaccordance with one preferred embodiment of the invention. In a primarystep 202, the commercial server system 120, FIG. 1, establishes aconnection with the promotion server system 130 over communicationsnetwork 160. The commercial server system then initiates promotionmanagement by logging on to the website hosted by the promotion serversystem, step 204. By logging on to the website with a username andpassword that is specific to that commercial server system, the user ofthe commercial server system gains access to its account which includesthe promotions that have previously been created by the commercialserver system. When logged on, the promotion server system generatesscreen display data that shows a promotion overview page, step 206. Thepromotion overview page is customizable by the commercial server systemand can provide a ranking of the commercial server system's promotions,relative to each other.

In the preferred embodiment, from the promotion overview page, the userof the commercial server system has three options. First, the promotionmanagement option may be selected, step 208. When this option isselected, the promotion server system generates screen display data thatshows a listing of the commercial server system's active promotions.From this screen, the user of the commercial server system can choose toview the statistics of each promotion, step 210, or to pull thepromotion from active status, step 212.

Second, the promotion authorization option may be selected, step 214.When this option is selected, the promotion server system generatesscreen display data that shows a listing of the commercial serversystem's promotions that have been defined by the commercial serversystem. Preferably, the promotions are created using the inventiondescribed in applicant's commonly assigned copending patent applicationSer. No. 09/596,664, now abandoned, entitled METHOD OF AND SYSTEM FORDEFINING A PROMOTION FOR A PURCHASE TRANSACTION OVER A NETWORK,incorporated herein by reference. For each promotion, the listingincludes a promotion identification number, the title of the promotion,the website hosted by the commercial server system and the commencementand expiration dates of the promotion. The user of the commercial serversystem can then accept or authorize the promotion, step 216, or declinethe promotion, step 218.

When the promotion accounting report option is selected, step 220, thepromotion server system generates screen display data that shows thenumber of electronic coupons redeemed for each promotion and the totaldollar amount of the promotion. From the accounting report, the user mayview a promotion success report, step 222. When the promotion successreport is selected, the promotion server system generates screen displaydata that shows how successful each promotion has been, as dictated bythe total number of electronic coupons redeemed or by a ratio of thenumber of electronic coupons redeemed to the total number of electroniccoupons issued.

An example of the management of promotions will now be described withreference to FIGS. 3-11, which are screen displays generated by thepromotion server system. FIG. 3 shows the promotion overview page 230that is accessed in step 206, FIG. 2. When the user logs on to thepromotion server using its specific username and password, the user isallowed to access only its own account which includes its promotions.Promotion overview page 230 includes promotion ranking portion 232 whichincludes several categories in which the promotions are ranked. Each ofthe promotions are identified by a promotion identification number and atitle. The promotions may be ranked in a top promotion category 234 anda least productive category 236, wherein the promotions are ranked basedon the redemption ratio of the promotions; and a top promotion category238 and a least productive category 240, wherein the promotions areranked based on the number of redeemed promotions. Promotion rankingportion 232 may be customized by the user to include any number of thesecategories and also may include graphs of the promotion redemptions.Promotion overview page 230 also includes a summary portion 242 whichshows the total number of active promotions, the number of promotionsstarting in the current month and the number of promotions ending in thecurrent month. Links portion 244 includes links to the management,authorization and report options of the invention.

When the user “clicks on” the “Manage Promotions” link 246, step 208,the promotion server system generates the promotion management screendisplay 252, FIG. 4. Promotion management screen display 252 includes apromotion search portion 254 which enables the user to search for itspromotions based on the creation date, box 256, which allows the user tosearch all dates, specific dates, or ranges of dates. The user can alsosearch based on the status of the promotion, box 258, whether thepromotion is active, inactive, in production or disabled. The format ofthe promotions is selected in box 260, which allows the user to selectto view only the text of the promotion or the graphics of the electroniccoupon associated with the promotion. The title or promotionidentification number of the promotion may also be searched using keyword search portion 262. As shown in FIG. 4, three promotions have beenfound as a result of a search for all of the promotions of thecommercial server system “Demo Site,” as indicated by website identifierportion 264. Promotion table 266 includes each of the promotions foundin the search. Each of the promotions listed in table 266 are identifiedby the promotion identification number and title of the promotion, aswell as the start and expiration dates and status of the promotion.Under the “Action” heading, the user has the option of either viewingthe statistics of the promotion or pulling the promotion from activestatus.

By clicking on the “Stats” link 268 for a particular promotion, the usergains access to promotion statistics page 272, FIG. 5, to view thestatistics for the promotion, step 210. Promotion statistics page 272includes information about the number of promotions issued, viewed,“clicked,” and redeemed, as well as the total money spent to takeadvantage of the promotion and the amount of money saved by theconsumers of the promotional product as a result of redeeming theelectronic coupon associated with the promotion. Promotion statisticspage 272 also includes a graph portion 274 that shows a graphicalrepresentation of the promotion statistics. The user can select thepromotion for which a graph is generated in box 276, as well as the daterange of the graph in box 278. The type of graph is selected in portion280 and the data included in the graph is selected in portion 282.

By clicking on the “Pull” link 270, FIG. 4, for a particular promotion,the user gains access to promotion page 284, FIG. 6. Promotion page 284includes information that identifies the particular promotion, and a“Pull” button 286 which, when clicked, removes the promotion from activestatus, step 212, FIG. 2.

By clicking on the “Authorize Promotions” link 248, FIG. 3, thepromotion authorization option is selected, step 214, FIG. 2. Thepromotion server system then generates the promotion authorizationscreen display 290, FIG. 7. Promotion authorization screen display 290includes a promotion search portion 292, similar to the promotion searchportion 254 of the management screen display 252, which enables the userto search for its newly created promotions which have not yet beenauthorized. The promotion search may be based on the creation date,start date and expiration date of the promotion. The user can alsosearch based on the status of the promotion. The title or promotionidentification number of the promotion may also be searched using keyword search portion 294. As shown in FIG. 7, three promotions have beenfound as a result of a search for all of the promotions of thecommercial server system “Demo Site,” as indicated by website identifierportion 296. Promotion table 298 includes each of the promotions foundin the search. Each of the promotions listed in table 298 are identifiedby the promotion identification number and title of the promotion, aswell as the start and expiration dates and status of the promotion.Under the “Action” heading, the user has the option of either acceptingor authorizing the promotion or declining the promotion.

By clicking on the “Accept” link 300, the user gains access to acceptpromotion page 304, FIG. 8. Accept promotion page 304 includesinformation that identifies the particular promotion, and an “Accept”button 306 which, when clicked, accepts the promotion into activestatus, step 216, FIG. 2. By clicking on the “Decline” link 302, FIG. 7,the user gains access to decline promotion page 308, FIG. 9. Declinepromotion page 308 also includes information that identifies theparticular promotion, and a “Decline” button 310 which, when clicked,declines the promotion from active status, step 218, FIG. 2.

By clicking on the “Accounting Report” link 250, FIG. 3, the promotionaccounting report option is selected, step 220, FIG. 2. The promotionserver system then generates the promotion accounting report screendisplay 312, FIG. 10A. Promotion accounting report screen display 312includes date range input portion 314 for selecting the date range ofthe desired accounting data for a particular promotion and report typeselection box 316 for selecting the format of the accounting report. InFIG. 10A, the “Total Results Only” format is selected, resulting in adata display portion 318 a that shows the total number of promotionsredeemed and the total value of the redeemed promotions. Alternatively,the selection of the “Results by Day” format in report type selectionbox 316 results in a data display portion 318 b, FIG. 10B, that showsthe number of promotions redeemed and the total value of the redeemedpromotions for each day that the promotion is active or for each dayselected in date range input portion 314.

From promotion accounting report screen display 312, by clicking on the“Success” link 320, FIGS. 10A and 10B, the promotion success reportoption is selected, step 222, FIG. 2. When this option is selected, thepromotion server system generates the promotion success screen display322, FIG. 11. Promotion success screen display 322 includes a promotionsearch portion 324, similar to the promotion search portion 254 of themanagement screen display 252, which enables the user to search for itspromotions. The promotion search may be based on a start date range andexpiration date range of the promotion. The user can also search basedon the status of the promotion. The title or promotion identificationnumber of the promotion may also be searched using key word searchportion 326 and the format of the success report is selected in successmeasure selection box 328. As shown in FIG. 11, the “Redeemed/Issued”success measure is selected in box 328, resulting in a data portion 330that lists each promotion found in the search and the success of eachpromotion as a ratio of the number promotions redeemed to the totalnumber of promotions issued. Alternatively, data portion 330 couldinclude only the total number of promotions redeemed.

Accordingly, the present invention enables a commercial server system tomanage its promotions by providing a system that allows the commercialserver system to accept or decline pending promotions, to viewredemption and accounting statistics of the promotions and, based onthese statistics, to pull promotions from active status. This allows thecommercial server system to monitor its promotions and to change thepromotions in real time based on the performance of the promotions.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departingfrom the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The presentembodiments are therefore to be considered in respects as illustrativeand not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by theappended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and allchanges which come within the meaning and range of the equivalency ofthe claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

The present invention is directed to a method of and system fordistributing and redeeming electronic coupons. An electronic coupon isessentially a token, issued by or under the authority of the issuer forthe benefit of recipient. Typically, the recipient receives theelectronic coupon and subsequently redeems it for the prescribed benefitat some later point in time. Preferably, the electronic coupon enablesor modifies an anticipated transaction such as providing a discount inthe price of goods or services provided by the issuer or the issuer'sagent. In addition, the electronic coupon can enable or modify the levelof access to privately held information or a server having restrictedaccess. Alternatively, the electronic coupon can be used in transactionsbetween two businesses, two government agencies or two governmentswherein, for example, the businesses enter into an agreement relating toa transaction for goods or services or access to information, or thegovernmental bodies enter into an agreement relating to transactionsregarding currency or information. Although the distribution ofelectronic coupons may be selectively tailored to particular users basedupon the users' demographics, shopping and spending habits, etc., apreferred embodiment of the invention distributes coupons to usersindependent of any known characteristics of the recipient.

FIG. 101 shows a diagram of a system 1000 for distributing and redeemingelectronic coupons in accordance with a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention. The system 1000 includes Client system 1110, ServerSystem A 1120, Server System B 1130, and Server System C 1140, allconnected to a common communications channel 1160. Preferably, theClient system 1110, Server System A 1120, Server System B 1130, andServer System C 1140 can be a personal computer such as an IBM PC or IBMPC compatible system or an APPLE MacINTOSH system or a more advancedcomputer system such as an Alpha based computer system available fromthe Digital Equipment Corporation division of Compaq ComputerCorporation or SPARC Station computer system available from SUNMicrosystems Corp, although a main frame computer system can also beused. Preferably, the communications channel 1160 is a TCP/IP basednetwork such as the Internet or an intranet, although almost any wellknown LAN, WAN, VPN technology can be used.

In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the Client system 1110 isan IBM PC compatible operating the Microsoft Windows 95 or 98 operatingsystem and Server System A 1120, Server System B 1130, and Server SystemC 1140 are configured as Web Servers providing access to informationsuch as web pages in HTML format via the HyperText Transport Protocol(http). Server System A 1120 is also configured to generate cookies andto transfer the cookies to the Client System 1110. The Client system1110 includes software to allow viewing of web pages, commonly referredto as a Web Browser, such as Communicator available from NetscapeCommunications Corp. or Internet Explorer available from Microsoft Corp.The Client system 1110 is capable of accessing web pages located onServer System A 1120 and Server System B 1130. Server System C 1140 isan authentication server which includes the software necessary toauthenticate electronic coupons prior to their redemption.

In one preferred embodiment, Service System A 1120 includes web serversoftware that is adapted to produce an electronic coupon or a book ofelectronic coupons that is transferred to the Client system 1110 in theform of a Cookie that is stored in memory at the Client system.Preferable, the electronic coupon is a data structure which can includeany or all of the following information elements: data representative ofan electronic coupon serial number or identification number, datarepresentative of a unique key that can be used to validate orauthenticate the coupon, data representative of the vendor thatauthorized the coupon and will redeem the coupon, data representative ofthe nature of the discount or access provided by the coupon, datarepresentative of the server or entity that issued the coupon. In onepreferred embodiment, the electronic coupon can be issued as part of anelectronic coupon book. The coupon book can include data representativeof a version number for the electronic coupon book and datarepresentative of a serial number or identification number for theelectronic coupon book.

In one preferred embodiment, the electronic coupon contains all theinformation necessary to redeem the coupon. Specifically, the electroniccoupon identifies the grantor (i.e. the party or vendor that will redeemthe electronic coupon), the nature of the discount or benefit providedand a unique serial number or other data structure that permits theelectronic coupon to be authenticated or validated. Thus, a serverredeeming this type of electronic coupon can obtain all the informationnecessary to redeem from the electronic coupon. The server can eveninclude the software necessary to authenticate or validate theelectronic coupon.

In an alternative embodiment, the electronic coupon book includes aunique serial number or identification number and a data structureuseful for authenticating or validating the electronic coupon book. Theactual content of the electronic coupon book can be determined, forexample, by visiting a website which reads the coupon book serial numberand provides the user with listing of the coupons available. A benefitto this configuration is the organization that issues the electroniccoupon book can add vendors even after the electronic coupon book hasbeen issued. Thus, if a vendor signs up with the organization thatissues electronic coupon books after a particular coupon book has beenissued to a client, the vendor can be added to the electronic couponbook at a later date. In order to redeem this type of electronic coupon,the server that intends to redeem the electronic coupon must connect toan authentication server which will authenticate or validate the couponbook and indicate the nature of the benefit of the electronic coupon tothe server requesting authentication/validation. Another benefit of thisconfiguration is that the coupons are relatively tamper proof, due tothe authentication and validation facilities. In many prior art systems,coupons could be copied and/or altered by the user with relative ease;in the absence of validation/authentication schemes, few reliablemethods for detection of such counterfeits exist.

In another embodiment, all of the information embodied in the coupon(i.e. nature of benefit, authentication data, grantor data, validvendors, etc.) may reside on a separate “clearing house” server, suchthat the Cookie held by the Client system 1110 merely conveysidentifying information relating to the Client that points to the couponon the clearing house server. In this embodiment, a Client “receiving” acoupon results in a modification of the clearing house server databaserather than a modification of data on the Client system; i.e., theClient system never physically receives the coupon. This embodimentrequires communication between the server issuing the coupon and theclearinghouse server, via internet, conventional telephone line or othersuitable communications channel. Likewise, when the coupon is to beredeemed by the Client system 1110, the redeeming server must establisha link to the clearinghouse server for identification, validation andauthentication. In an alternate embodiment, the coupon or couponsresiding on the clearinghouse server may be provided to a printingdevice peripheral to the clearinghouse server, such that hard-copyversions of the coupons may be mailed, sent via facsimile, or otherwisedelivered to the Client system 1110.

FIG. 102 shows a flow chart 2000 of a method of distributing andredeeming coupons in accordance with one preferred embodiment of theinvention. In a preliminary step 1210, the client system requestsinformation from Server A. In the next step 1212, Server A transfers therequested information along with the electronic coupon to the Clientsystem. The Client system stores the electronic coupon in memory. In thenext step 1214, the Client system initiates a transaction or requestsinformation from a Server. The Server could be Server A or anotherserver. At this point, depending upon the system, the Server coulddetect the presence of the electronic coupon on the Client system or theClient system could present the electronic coupon for redemption. In thenext step 1216, the Server authenticates the electronic coupon.Depending upon the system, the Server could evaluate the electroniccoupon to authenticate or validate the electronic coupon, oralternatively, the Server could transfer the electronic couponinformation to an Authentication Server which could authenticate orvalidate the electronic coupon and authorize the transaction. In thenext step 1218, the electronic coupon is used to modify or enable thetransaction and the transaction is completed.

As one of ordinary skill will appreciate, it will not always benecessary for the Client system to request information from Server A.All that is necessary is for Server A to establish a connection with theClient system in order to transfer the electronic coupon to the Clientsystem. One method of transferring the electronic coupon is to includethe electronic coupon with the information requested. Alternatively, theelectronic coupon can be transferred to the Client system by any methodof transferring information.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the Client system is apersonal computer running browser software which connects to web serversvia the Internet or a similar network. Preferably, a book of electroniccoupons is transferred to the Client system in the form of a Cookiewhich is stored in memory at the Client system. The Cookie can bedetected by any subsequent web server that Client system connects to. Ifthe Client system attempts to initiate a transaction with a particularweb server, the web server detects the Cookie which includes electroniccoupon and uses the electronic coupon to enable or modify thetransaction. In this embodiment, when the Client system receives theelectronic coupon, the user can be alerted to the presence of theelectronic coupon by another browser window or a java based window thatidentifies all the electronic coupons in the electronic coupon book, thenature of the benefit provided and provides links to the various websites where the electronic coupons can be redeemed. Alternatively, theClient system can connect to a web server which displays the contents ofthe electronic coupon book in the form of a web page which describes thenature of the electronic coupon benefit and a link to the web page wherethe electronic coupon can be redeemed. In yet another embodiment of theinvention, when the Client system receives the electronic coupon orcoupon book, the Client system may be programmed to automaticallyprovide the electronic coupon or coupon book to a peripheral printingdevice such that the User has automatic access to hard-copy versions ofthe coupons.

As one having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate, the use of theclient system will typically be operated or otherwise controlled by aconsumer or a customer (in business to business transactions) and theserver system or systems will be operated or otherwise controlled by anorganization or an agent of an organization authorized to enter into andcomplete the transaction. In addition, as one having ordinary skill willappreciate the entire process and system can be automated, for examplewhereby a client system is programmed to periodically visit websites(whether or not known to the source of electronic coupons) or theoriginating server can be programmed to periodically distributeelectronic coupons, such as by electronic mail, and the redeeming servercan be programmed to automatically redeem the electronic coupon as partof an automated request to initiate a transaction received from anautomated client system. One of ordinary skill in the art will alsoappreciate that the electronic coupons can include an expiration date ora window of dates when the electronic coupon is valid or effective.

In another embodiment of the invention, Cookies are transferred to, orretrieved from, a client system by a frame spawned within a primarywebsite by JavaScript or other similar software code. This embodiment iscompatible with security features included with some web browsers thatlimit a website to depositing and retrieving Cookies only for itself.For example, a user visiting a highly trafficked website generallyreceives a Cookie from that site, but a user cannot receive a cookiefrom a site on behalf of another site. This is because a Cookiedeposited by a particular website is encoded with a signaturecorresponding to that website, and the browser utilizes that signatureto limit Cookie transfers to only the website that created the Cookie.However, a frame spawned within the highly trafficked website candeposit a Cookie on the Client system, and a similar frame spawnedwithin another website can subsequently read that Cookie, as long as theframes spawned on different websites look the same (i.e., have the samesignature) to the browser running on the Client system. As with theother embodiments described herein, the Cookie may contain all of thenecessary the coupon information, including the complete coupon datastructure necessary for benefits identification, validation andauthentication, or the Cookie may contain only data identifying theClient, so that the Cookie functions as a pointer to a database on acoupon clearinghouse server. If the Cookie contains the complete datastructure, the script will include the code necessary to authenticateand validate the coupon. The utility of this embodiment lies in the factthat the issuer and the redeemer of the coupon need not be the sameentity. For example, a producer of goods may desire to have couponsdistributed to potential purchasers, but may not desire to conduct theelectronic commerce necessary to redeem the coupons. In this case, theproducer of goods would distribute the JavaScript (or other similarscript) for generating coupon-distributing website frames to highlytrafficked websites. The producer of goods would also provide theframe-generating script to point-of-sale product retailers so that thecoupons could be redeemed where the product is sold. In otherembodiments of the invention, the highly trafficked advertising websiteand the point of sale, redeeming website may be the same website. Inother embodiments, the website from which the user acquires coupons orcoupon pointer information may include the clearinghouse systemdirectly, i.e., the user need not visit a website separate from theclearinghouse.

The preceding embodiment of the invention may be implemented by a singleservice provider such as the entity responsible for the couponclearinghouse server 1150. In this scenario, illustrated in FIG. 103,the producer of goods 1250 authorizes 1252 the clearinghouse 1150 togenerate and distribute electronic coupons related to the relevantgoods. The clearinghouse 1150 produces and distributes the necessaryframe-generating script 1254 to the highly trafficked websites (i.e.,the advertising websites) and to the point of sale websites (the couponredeeming websites). A user operating a Client system 1110 initiates aconnection 1302 to the one of the advertising websites (Server A 1120)and receives a Cookie 1304 from the frame 1306 spawned by the script. Ifthe coupon is to be stored on a clearinghouse database, the advertisingwebsite establishes a connection 1308 to the clearinghouse 1150 to storecoupon information associated with the Client 1110 into theclearinghouse coupon database 1310. In a preferred embodiment of theinvention, the aforementioned distribution of coupons is not dependentupon any characteristics of the Client 1110 (e.g. demographics,purchasing habits etc.), although other embodiments may utilize suchinformation to selectively distribute particular coupons to specificClients. The user subsequently initiates a connection 1312 to one of thecoupon redeeming websites (Server B 1130), and the frame 1314 spawned bythe resident script retrieves the Cookie that contains either thecomplete coupon data structure or the Client data that points to theclearinghouse database. If the coupon has been stored on theclearinghouse database 1310, the redeeming website 1130 establishes acommunications link 1316 to the clearinghouse 1150 and retrieves couponinformation associated with the Client 1110. The redeeming website 1130then authenticates the coupon, either internally based on theinformation embedded in the coupon, or via the connection 1316 to theclearinghouse 1150. The redeeming website 1130 then modifies thetransaction with the Client 1110 by an amount defined by the coupon. Aswith conventional paper-based coupons, the redeeming entity(corresponding to the redeeming website 1130) is reimbursed for theamount of the transaction modification in addition to a processing fee.The redeeming entity 1130 may receive the reimbursement and fee from theproducer of goods 1250 directly, or from the clearinghouse 1150. In theformer case (shown in FIG. 104), upon notification 1330 of thetransaction from the redeeming entity 1130, the redeeming entityreceives the reimbursement and fee 1332 from the producer of goods 1250,and the clearinghouse 1150 receives a fee 1334 from the producer ofgoods 1250 for each coupon redeemed. In the latter case (shown in FIG.105), upon notification from the redeeming entity 1130, the redeemingentity 1130 receives the reimbursement and fee 1332 a from theclearinghouse, the clearinghouse notifies the producer of goods of thetransaction, and the producer of goods reimburses the clearinghouse forthe amount of the modification and the fee 1332 b that the clearinghousepaid to the redeeming entity, in addition to a providing a fee 1334 tothe clearinghouse for the redeemed coupon.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departingfrom the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The presentembodiments are therefore to be considered in respects as illustrativeand not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by theappended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and allchanges which come within the meaning and range of the equivalency ofthe claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

1. A system for managing promotions over a network comprising: apromotion server system including a computer processor and associateddatastore, said datastore containing data representative of terms andstatistics of one or more item promotions and electronic tokens; acommercial server system including a computer processor and associatedcommercial datastore, said commercial datastore containing datarepresentative of terms and statistics of one or more item promotionsand electronic tokens, said commercial server system being selectivelycoupleable to said promotion server system over said network; and aclient server system including a computer processor and associatedclient datastore, said client datastore containing data representativeof terms and statistics of one or more item promotions and electronictokens, said client server system being selectively coupleable over saidnetwork to (1) said promotion server system and to (2) said commercialserver system; wherein said commercial server system further includes ascript for generating a website frame having a predetermined signature,such that an electronic token uniquely corresponds to said predeterminedsignature; wherein said commercial server system distributes saidwebsite frame over said network to said promotion server system; whereinsaid client server system connects to said promotion server system oversaid network; wherein said promotion server system transmits saidelectronic token from said website frame over said network to saidclient server system; and wherein said promotion server system transmitsover said network to said commercial server system coupon informationassociated with the client received from said electronic token.
 2. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein said promotion server system further includesauthorization code for enabling said commercial server system to acceptor decline one or more of said promotions.
 3. The system of claim 1,wherein said promotion server system further includes accounting codefor providing, to said commercial server system, said statistics of saidpromotions, said statistics including data representative of one or moreof the number of promotions redeemed and the value of the redeemedpromotions.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein said promotion data istransferred to said commercial server system in the form of screendisplay data.
 5. A system for managing promotions over a networkcomprising: an promotion server; a retailer's commercial server; aconsumer's client computer; wherein said advertiser's promotion server;said retailer's commercial server; and said consumer's client computerare operably connected to the Internet, and are structured andprogrammed so that: said consumer's client computer can request fromsaid retailer's commercial server a promotion; and said retailer'scommercial server responds to requests from said consumer's clientcomputer for said promotion by automatically obtaining from saidpromotion server promotion authorization data for said promotion, andsaid retailer's commercial server determines from said authorizationdata whether to accept or decline said promotion.
 6. The system of claim5 wherein said retailer's commercial server selecting a promotionaccounting report option, wherein said promotion server transfertransfers screen display data to said retailer's commercial serversystem that provides said retailer's commercial server system withstatistics that include the dollar value of promotions redeemed by saidconsumer's client computer.
 7. A computer network implemented method formanaging promotions over a network comprising: providing an promotionserver; providing a retailer's commercial server; providing a consumer'sclient computer; wherein said advertiser's promotion server; saidretailer's commercial server; and said consumer's client computer areoperably connected to the Internet, and are structured and programmed sothat: said consumer's client computer can request from said retailer'scommercial server a promotion; and said retailer's commercial serverresponds to requests from said consumer's client computer for saidpromotion by automatically obtaining from said promotion serverpromotion authorization data for said promotion, and said retailer'scommercial server determines from said authorization data whether toaccept or decline said promotion.
 8. The method of claim 7 furthercomprising: said retailer's commercial server selecting a promotionaccounting report option, wherein said promotion server transfertransfers screen display data to said retailer's commercial serversystem that provides said retailer's commercial server system withstatistics that include the dollar value of promotions redeemed by saidconsumer's client computer.